The Third Dawn
by Goldenwing Eats a Flower
Summary: Ever since the third dawn, dark shadows existed. Not shadows of the living cats, but spirits far from unknown. When many, many generations passed, it was up to the third dawn of the tree Clans to destroy them once and for all, but StarClan knows of only the general danger. Will StarClan know and decide what is the best? Will they remember?
1. Chapter 1

The bright full moon rested along the peak of the hill, its light flowing gently down the slope, washing the colors to pale silvers and grays. At the foot of the hill, there was a pond, its surface not at all disturbed until one silver paw stepped onto the smooth surface of a stepping stone. She paused and waited, her short fur rippling against the breeze.

At the other part of the pond, gentle swishes could be heard as another feline shape emerged from the reeds, his orange fur was diluted against the moonlight. He copied the other cat, but he sat on a stepping stone instead. His green eyes were stern and blank, and gave no greeting to the silver cat.

The two cats sat there, as though waiting for something more. They gave no motion as another cat appeared. She sat down like the other cats did, curling her mottled tail around her paws. There sitting formed a triangle, and the moon's reflection was located in the middle of the pond.

Finally, the first cat spoke, her voice unexpected, hoarse and dry compared to her beautiful shape. "It's as she has told us," she rasped. "It's them."

"But why now?" The third cat meowed, her voice young and smooth compared to the first cat's scaly mew. "They could have demolished us long ago, when we were stupid and there were few of us."

"They have their own plans," the orange cat replied, dipping his broad head. "And we have ours. Bluestar showed we what to do. She might not have told us when or how, but she gave us a warning and a hope for our future."

The first cat gave a shuddery sigh, and cleared her throat loudly, clearly uncomfortable. "She did. And she gave us the hope. The prophecy," she meowed, still slightly crumbly. "The third dawn will shun the shadows. The first will shine, the second will cloud. The third will be dimmer than the first, but is the last and final hope."

"When should we tell the cats?" The second cat meowed suddenly. "They aren't born yet. And when they are born, when should they be told? They could be kits when they save the Clans!" The cat let out a rusty purr, but they were clouded, as if he was uncertain.

"We know the main time is now, and that should be enough," the third cat meowed. "And we waited this long. Whatever we do now should save the Clans."

"Yes," the first cat suddenly snapped. "And we will win. That's all that matters."

The second cat narrowed his eyes, and made his gaze bore into her. "But how?" He asked. "What Clan-"

"It doesn't matter! We will find the cats. Brother and sister, look at us. We've survived in StarClan for this long, and the shadows have been alive since forever."

The mottled cat flattened her ears. "Splashstar," she meowed, and her eyes sparkled uncertainly. "I know we will, but why do that now? Sure, we did that a lot on earth, but now is the time to stop. We are living spirits, and a great time is following us."

Splashstar let out a soft hiss and stood up to turn around and step onto the ground, and left, the reeds rustling at her departure.

"What's her problem?" The orange cat muttered, shaking his head slowly.

"She was always like that, anyway," the third cat hissed in annoyance, and stood up to leave. "I'll see you later, Blazestar."

Blazestar dipped his head. "Same to you, Merry."


	2. Chapter 2

The pale morning light streamed into the nursery, dipping the different cats' fur into pale shades. Gentle purrs could be heard through the entrance, and a single cat from the crowd slipped in anxiously.

Inside the nursery, the cat settled in with three more, pushing away Hollysong, the medicine cat, in his haste.

Hollysong hissed in annoyance, but she could understand the feelings that the cat carried. The new kits were his, after all, but that was no way to treat a medicine cat!

"Snowfern?" He asked the white queen, crouching down next to her.

Snowfern let out a purr, curling her tail around her belly, where the kits lied. "Three kits, Redleaf. Three," she meowed, sparks of happiness flying from her words. "Two she- kits and one tomkit."

Redleaf looked down to reveal three, tiny little kits nursing from the curve of their mother's white belly. They squirmed and let out little squeals and squeaks as their mother shifted slightly in her place.

"What are you going to name them, Snowfern?" Meadowbreeze, an expecting queen, asked. Meadowbreeze's bright patches of tortoiseshell were visible in the den's dim light, and Redleaf narrowed his eyes to make it out.

Snowfern flicked her tail at Meadowbreeze to acknowledge her, and turned her bright green gaze to Redleaf. "Redlaf,what do you think?"

Redleaf studied the kits, his eyes traveling over their shapes and colors. The slightly dull orange tom blended into his sisters' pale cream fur, making them look like a cloud at sunset. "How about Daykit for the tom?" he suggested.

Snowfern nodded thoughtfully. "And Dawnkit and Morningkit for the she- kits," she meowed firmly.

"Beautiful names," Meadowbreeze purred, moving a paw over the other. "And they fit together."

"Like the colors of the sunset," Hollysong added with a _mrrwww _of amusment. She started to pad toward the entrance. "I'll be back with some herbs," she meowed before leaving.

Redleaf watched their medicine cat leave, and quickly transfered his gaze to their kits. He just couldn't stop looking at them... they were so sincere, so sweet and delicate. Something made of him and the cat he loved most.


	3. Chapter 3

Kitty Cat- Redleaf was the one who pushed Hollysong. xD And about the oldness of the three, you'll see in this chapter. ;)

* * *

Mintbriar, the former medicine cat, settled in his nest comfortably, his throat rumbling in a deep purr as the three new kits stumbled into the elders' den. "Dawnkit, Morningkit, and Daykit," he greeted them, and watched the three walk toward him with their stubby little legs.

"We explored the whole camp today!" Dawnkit yowled proudly, her pale chest puffing up in pride. "We went to the warriors' den, the medicine den, and the leader's-"

Daykit ran to his sister's side to give a hasty but harsh nudge to her shoulder, making her squeak in pain. "We explored the dirtplace," he meowed, nodding.

Morningkit sat beside Mintbriar, so close to the elder that his long fur tickled her whiskers. She let out a small sneeze, and rubbed her nose minutely.

Mintbriar let out a short purr and shifted in his nest, turning his attention from Morningkit's littermates to Morningkit herself.

"Snowfern said that you're going to tell us a story," she explained, and turned to look at her littermates through narrowed eyes.

Letting out an insincere growl, Dawnkit flicked her tail absently and went to sit by Mintbriar's other side, rubbing her cheek to her shoulder, clearly exaggerating Daykit's little punch.

Mintbriar _mrrwwwed _in amusement, and opened his mouth to speak again. "What story would you like to hear?"

"What stories are there?" Morningkit meowed eagerly, shooting a glare at Dawnkit and Daykit quickly. She didn't want the two to mess up their first storytime!

"How about one about one about how WillowClan was formed?" Dawnkit asked, not waiting for Mintbriar to reply to Morningkit's question. And that OakClan and PineClan, too. That's a story every kit should know," she added happily, ignoring Mintbriar's twitch of his whiskers.

"Well," Mintbriar mewed, and glanced at Daykit and Duskkit. Daykit just shrugged, and nodded for him to continue.

"Once, a long time ago, there were three littermates. One was a she- cat named Merry. Another she- cat was Splash, and the last one, a tom, was named Blaze." He looked up at the sudden block of light of the den, revealing a young apprentice, Flashpaw. She had trout in her mouth, her green eyes flashing. She walked past the kits, dropping it at Mintbriar's paws. "Your favorite," she muttered, and raised her head.

Mintbriar gave a nod.

Dawnkit gazed curiously at the trout, and snapped back up as Flashpaw turned around and stalked away, her scrawny golden tail twitching.

"Continue!" Duskkit meowed to Mintbriar. At the moment, the story was quite boring, but she knew that it will be better soon.

"So, they all were once kittypets, escaped of their old home. They were trained of different things from their Twolegs- swimming, agility, all that. Anyway, they traveled together, but they fought a lot over petty things." He let out a purr. "One day, they walked into the territory we know as OakClan territory today. They were located at where the Gatherings are, where the river cuts through the mountains, and the forest meets the bank. There, at the night, a storm raged through. It was a very bad time to be there. There was absolutely no moon at all, and the stars were covered by clouds." He paused to lick his white paw dramatically, his yellow eyes glinting.

Interested, Morningkit pricked her ears, waiting for Mintbriar to continue.

"Hurry up!" Dawnkit's high pitched mew piped up. Her tiny paws plattered against the sandy floor.

"Soon, you'll be telling this story to your own kits," Mintbriar snorted. "And you'll know when to continue and when to stop. Anyway, there was a bad storm. There was lightning and thunder, and the waters of the river splashed dangerously along the riverbanks... and... unluckily, the river overflowed, swallowing them all. Splash, the one who was trained to swim, survived the flood and went to leave, toward the lake that we, WillowClan claimed now. She didn't wait for her brother and sister." He flicked his whiskers sympathetically. "She has little faith and believed they drowned."

"Is this how the story gets told to every kit in the tree Clans?" Daykit asked, tipping his head slightly to one side. "Or does the other Clans tell their story of how Merry and Blaze made their Clans?"

"I believe this is how they tell the tale," Mintbriar meowed patiently, but his eyes were glinting with a slight hint of annoyance. "So Splash went to sit under a willow tree, and lived around the place were we are right now," he meowed, forgetting his mood the heartbeat before. "She used her skills and hunted for water voles and fish. Around a moon or two passed, she started to explore outside of her little area. She found other loners, accepting them as her own. She was bored, and even missed her littermates."

"This story is long!" Dawnkit complained.

Ignoring Dawnkit's complaint, Mintbriar continued. "After a few more moons living with her little group, she went to officially mark her new territory. As she did, she met another cat. She invited her to join in, but the other cat said no. She said she belonged to another group. Splash said farewell but warned her to stay away, and that night, she had a dream... of a cat of stars. She was a beautiful cat indeed, and she, surprisingly, was never from here. From legend, her name was Bluestar. She told Splash that she must go to the river of which she first ended up here in the first place, and to wait until there are two more. She said that there, they must make different Clans into which to survive. There was a great darkness coming, and she knew when. She never told them. Well, so Splash woke and went to the place Bluestar had located her to. There, she met her two lost littermates, Blaze and Merry."


End file.
